U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-up 169
28 February - 5 March 2004


CONTENTS:

BOTSWANA: Culture under threat - Special Report on the San bushmen
LESOTHO: Another year of crisis, UN warns
NAMIBIA: Eight million hectares needed for land reform
ANGOLA: Govt bureaucracy delays WFP food aid
MALAWI: Wrangles over airtime on state media in election run-up
MADAGASCAR: Reservists want more money for supporting Ravalomanana
MOZAMBIQUE: Erratic rainfall threatens upcoming harvest
SOUTH AFRICA: Anti-HIV programme fails rape victims
ZAMBIA: Rwandan refugees reluctant to return home
ZIMBABWE: Funds provided for housing programme
SOUTHERN AFRICA: bPlusNews Web Special - Gender and HIV/AIDS


BOTSWANA: Culture under threat - Special Report on the San bushmen

The controversial eviction of San bushmen from Botswana's Central Kalahari
Game Reserve (CKGR) in 1997 sparked local and international protest. This
week IRIN reported on the possible impact a court ruling later this year
on the legality of the resettlement could have on the San's unique
lifestyle.

The government has insisted that the San are better off in settlements
with health and education facilities and that to provide social services
in the CKGR is too expensive.

Like first peoples elsewhere, from the Native Americans to the Maoris, the
San have a history of discrimination, poverty, social exclusion, erosion
of cultural identity and denial of rights as a group. In Botswana they are
called Basarwa (those who don't raise cattle), a term the San find
demeaning.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39864


LESOTHO: Another year of crisis, UN warns

Hundreds of thousands of people in Lesotho will require international
assistance for a third consecutive year due to the combined impact of
devastating drought and the worsening HIV/AIDS epidemic, the World Food
Programme (WFP) warned on this week.

To underline the crisis facing the tiny mountain kingdom, a high-level UN
delegation, led by James T. Morris, the UN Secretary-General's Special
Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, is due in the country on
Friday.

"Any hopes that Lesotho's humanitarian crisis would begin to ease this
year have been dashed by yet another drought, and by the increasingly
devastating impact of HIV/AIDS," a joint UN agency statement quoted Morris
as saying. "Hundreds of thousands of people - many of them infected or
affected by HIV/AIDS - will once again need the help of the international
community to survive."

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39857


NAMIBIA: Eight million hectares needed for land reform

The Namibian government this week said it needed a little more than eight
million hectares of land at an estimated cost of US $150 million to
achieve its land resettlement target of nine million hectares.

The target of nine million hectares was set at the beginning of the first
Namibian Development Plan, soon after the country became independent in
1990, Chrispin Matongela, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands,
Resettlement and Rehabilitation, said on Thursday.

Since independence, the government had only managed to acquire 829,486
hectares, including 130 farms, he added.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39855


Land acquisition process spelled out

Payment for land expropriated by the Namibian government would be
determined in a manner similar to that in the current "willing buyer,
willing seller" framework, Namibian authorities announced on Tuesday.

Chrispin Matongela, a spokesman for the ministry of lands, resettlement
and rehabilitation, distanced the new policy from the controversial land
reform programme in Zimbabwe.

"After a farm or piece of land has been identified for expropriation, a
notice will be sent to the owner. The owner will approach the government
with a value of his land, which will then be negotiated between the two
parties. If the owner is unhappy with an offer made by the government, he
has the option of taking it to the Land Tribunal," Matongela told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39788


ANGOLA: Govt bureaucracy delays WFP food aid

Tonnes of food have been stuck in Luanda's port since January, failing to
reach hungry Angolans as the government drags its heels in paying customs
and port taxes, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

Oscar Sarroca, the acting director of the WFP in Angola, blamed
bureaucratic inefficiency for preventing 1,600 mt of pulses – a vital
source of protein for many Angolans - and vegetable oil from getting into
the food pipeline.

"It's really incredible that now we have all the commodities we need in
the country ... we can't distribute this key protein component because of
this bureaucratic problem of the government," Sarroca told journalists.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39856


Red Cross reaches out to reunite families

Satuma dodges the traffic in the ever-busy Angolan capital, Luanda, to get
to the younger brother he hasn't seen since 1992, "when he was just a
baby". In what has become a traditional greeting, he hoists Sovica into
the air.

This week IRIN reported on efforts to reunite families torn apart by 27
years of civil war.

Sovica had fled the war in the central province of Huambo. After roaming
barefoot around the country for almost a year he arrived in Luena, the
capital of Moxico province in the east. He knew he might find his family
through the Red Cross reunification programme.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39795


Govt to halve child mortality by 2008

On Tuesday the government pledged to take steps to slash the appalling
child mortality rate by half within the next four years.

One in four children are likely to die before they reach their fifth
birthday, according to figures from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Malaria, respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS
are the biggest child killers. The state-owned newspaper, Jornal de
Angola, reported that the government, as part of its national strategic
plan, would increase the availability of vaccines and improve the quality
of, and access to, health services.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39791


Protest over government corruption

An Angolan opposition party this week protested in the capital over
alleged government corruption.

According to the protest organisers, police had allegedly harassed
protesters outside the United States embassy in the capital, Luanda, the
venue of the protest.

"We were quite pleased as about 1,000 people attended the demonstration,
and although the police had intimidated them, they remained firm," Carlos
Leitao, president of the Angolan Party for Democratic Progress (PADEPA)
told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39784


MALAWI: Wrangles over airtime on state media in election run-up

Malawi's public broadcaster has denied claims by opposition parties that
the state media were giving preference to the ruling United Democratic
Front (UDF) in the lead-up to the May elections.

Malawi television's head of news, Wellington Kuntaja, on Thursday said the
accusations were "unsubstantiated" and the station had "policies in place
which afforded sufficient time to opposition parties".

But the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), a civil rights NGO, has filed a
court case against the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation over the issue.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39853


MADAGASCAR: Reservists want more money for supporting Ravalomanana

Authorities in Madagascar promised on Thursday to continue talking to army
reservists, who staged a demonstration this week to demand better
compensation for their support of President Marc Ravalomanana during the
2002 political crisis.

According to presidential spokesman Raymond Ramandimbilahatra, about 600
reservists marched through the capital, Antananarivo, on Wednesday,
calling for an increase in the existing reward package offered by the
government for their support during the six-month crisis.

Last month Ravalomanana offered the reservists US $175, but the protestors
are asking for up to US $2,000 to cover their expenses, including a risk
premium, family and rent allowances.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39852


MOZAMBIQUE: Erratic rainfall threatens upcoming harvest

Erratic rainfall in Mozambique is likely to affect the country's current
cropping season, the latest monthly report of the Famine Early Warning
Systems Network (FEWSNET) has warned.

Despite increased rains in January, the cumulative rainfall across the
country was still below normal. "Heavy rains in late January mask very
poor rains during the most important part of the growing season, from
October to December, in the far south," the report noted.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39767



SOUTH AFRICA: Anti-HIV programme fails rape victims

Human rights activists this week said mixed messages and government
inaction are undermining South Africa's pledge to provide victims of
sexual assault with drugs to help reduce their chances of HIV infection.

In a new report, "Deadly Delay: South Africa's Efforts to Prevent HIV in
Survivors of Sexual Violence," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the HIV/AIDS
epidemic had turned sexual assault into a possible death sentence, but
many rape victims still had little or no access to antiretroviral drugs.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39829


Mbabane chides Pretoria over ANC manifesto

Swazis are capable of formulating their own system of democratic
governance, which does not have to be similar to the South African model,
a senior government official told IRIN on Tuesday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mabili Dlamini was responding to a reference
made to governance issues in Swaziland in the election manifesto of the
ruling South African party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Swaziland was singled out by the ANC as a country where the party intended
to help strengthen democracy and assist in "social normalisation and
economic reconstruction".

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39792


Pretoria has "no problem" granting Aristide asylum

South Africa could be the final destination of ousted Haitian president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, but the government has yet to receive a formal
request, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said on Monday.

"I am not aware of any formal request and, therefore, we have made no
formal decision," the South African news agency SAPA quoted Pahad as
saying in Pretoria. "If we can help, we will help," he added. "In
principle, we have no problem."

Aristide arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday and was
granted temporary asylum, state radio reported.

Aristide resigned on Sunday and flew to the CAR after rebels surrounded
the capital, Port-au-Prince, the culmination of several weeks of fighting.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39769


Getting by on an old-age pension

A recent international study conducted in South Africa confirms that
social pensions play a significant role in alleviating poverty.

The South African leg of the study, "Getting By", found the pension both
effective in tackling poverty and financially viable, while pensioners saw
it as an entrenched right.

According to the study, chronic poverty in some parts of the Eastern Cape
would have resulted in far more fatalities were it not for the pension.

In rural black households, 75 percent of total income was derived from the
pension, and only 13 percent from wage earnings. By contrast, in poor
urban homes, pensions contributed no more than 30 percent.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39768


ZAMBIA: Rwandan refugees reluctant to return home

A senior Zambian official on Wednesday told IRIN authorities would
continue to persuade Rwandan refugees that it was safe to return home.

"There has been some resistance from the Rwandan community to the
repatriation process, mainly because they fear persecution by the
government. But there's really no evidence of this, which makes the
current situation very difficult for all the parties concerned," the
Zambian Ministry of Home Affairs Commissioner for Refugees, Jacob Mpepo,
told IRIN.

Last year the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began repatriating
the estimated 5,000 Rwandans from Zambia, after a tripartite agreement was
signed between the UNHCR and the governments of Zambia and Rwanda. But
since the repatriation began in May 2003, just 123 Rwandans have returned
home.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39814


Good harvest expected if the rains oblige

Zambia could expect a good harvest this year but much depends on continued
rains, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said in its
latest monthly report.

Although current growing conditions were generally fair to good throughout
the country, farmers were concerned about the two-week dry spell in the
first part of February. However, rains had resumed since mid-February and,
if they continued through March and early April, crop output was expected
to be good.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39782


ZIMBABWE: Funds provided for housing programme

An injection of funds into Zimbabwe's national housing programme has
raised the hopes of working-class people that they might finally own their
own homes.

The National Social Security Authority (NSSA), a quasi-governmental
pension fund, has set aside Zim $30 billion (US $7.5 million) to help
low-income earners acquire houses in urban centres.

Despite several programmes over the years aimed at reducing the housing
backlog, there are still more than 300,000 people on the waiting list in
the capital, Harare, while Bulawayo, the second largest city, has close to
200,000.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39821


New sanctions imposed by US

The United States this week tightened the screws on Zimbabwe by imposing
sanctions on additional businesses owned by the country's ruling
officials.

The US State Department named seven businesses that will be subject to
sanctions, including a commercial farm expropriated under the government's
land reform programme, a holding company owned by the ruling ZANU-PF and
two companies in which retired Chief of Staff General Vitalis Zvinavashe
has an interest.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39812


Doctors backtrack on cash upfront demands

Zimbabwe's private doctors this week stopped demanding cash payments for
services and reverted to accepting valid medical aid cards, easing the
difficulties of patients struggling to afford medical attention.

Dr Billy Rigava, president of the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA),
said members would now comply with an amendment to the Medical Services
Act introduced by the government last week, which effectively made it a
crime for any doctor to refuse services to holders of valid medical aid
cards.

Private doctors had been demanding cash upfront since January, citing long
delays in the processing of claims by the National Association of Medical
Aid Societies (NAMAS). They also hiked their consultation fees from an
average of Zim $26,500 (US $6) per visit to Zim $46,500 (US $10).

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39793


Govt boosts spending on disabled

The Zimbabwean government has responded to calls to provide better support
to the disabled by injecting Zim $5 billion (US $1.1 million) into the
National Disability Board (NDB), an advisory body that helps develop
national policy.

"We were allocated Zim $5 billion for disability programmes. Zim $300
million (US $71,000) will go to advocacy campaigns whose main thrust is to
inject a disability dimension in both government thinking and planning -
this is to make sure that we are included in all government plans and
programmes," said board chairman Joshua Malinga.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39789


Clerical task team to kick-start talks

South African and Zimbabwean church leaders on Tuesday said they would
play a more active role in trying to defuse tensions between Zimbabwe's
political leaders in the run-up to next year's parliamentary elections.

On Monday seven prominent clergy from both countries formed a task team
aimed at encouraging talks between the ruling ZANU-PF and the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

"We are particularly concerned about the plight of ordinary Zimbabweans,
and we will pool our resources together to assist those who are in need.
But we also realise that unless the political crisis is resolved, much of
our efforts will, in the long term, be ineffective," secretary general of
the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Richard Menatsi,
told IRIN.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39781


SOUTHERN AFRICA: PlusNews Web Special - Gender and HIV/AIDS

PlusNews, IRIN's HIV/AIDS news service, launched a new Web Special to mark
International Women's Day.

A series of features from Angola, Swaziland and Zambia examines the
connection between gender and HIV/AIDS. The Web Special also links to a
campaign by the UN's Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office for
the Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, which
explores the region's humanitarian crisis "Through the Eyes of Women".

The Web Special can be viewed at:
http://www.plusnews.org/webspecials/womensday/default.asp


AIDS conference underway in Zimbabwe

A conference on the scaling up of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in Southern
Africa opened this week in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The first of its kind in the country, the event is being hosted by the
Pan-African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM), the Treatment Action
Campaign, Zimbabwe Activists on HIV and AIDS (ZAHA) and the Southern
Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS).

Addressing journalists on Wednesday at the start of the conference,
SAfAIDS executive director, Lois Lunga, said the meeting could provide an
opportunity for countries to review some of the challenges faced in the
roll-out of ARVs.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39858


Illegal drug use and smuggling increasing - new report

Southern Africa continues to be the major source of cannabis in Africa,
according to an annual report by the International Narcotics Control Board
(INCB).

South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique, in that order,
have been identified as the major producers of cannabis in the region.
Most of the good quality cannabis grown in the region is smuggled to
Europe.

A separate concern, notes the INCB report, is the increased use of
injected drugs in major urban centres such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and
Cape Town.

"That trend is particularly worrisome, as the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is
very high in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, there is the potential risk
for the transmission of HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases
through the use of contaminated needles and syringes," said the report.

More details:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=39819


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